Patrik Stenberg Renoverings och Seglingsblog

torsdag, augusti 25, 2005

Rapport från Almadi Cup, Balaton sjön, Ungern

Hi!It was great fun. We had wonderful weather. There were14 boats altogether. One German. Its skipper was MarcoSchwoerer, Arthur Schwoerer's son. The father was 3rdlast year at the Europa Cup.

We had 3 Olimpic Course races the first day, a matchrace (everyone against everyone in pairs) the secondday, and a long distance race the third day. We had a party each evening, partly officiallyorganized, partly due to the wine festival we had in town.

It was interesting to see the comparability of theGerman Bijou with the Hungarian boats. As we expected, in light wind the German boat was faster due to itslightness, but above 2 Beaufort we gained speed.

The Germans did well, although they didn't come with a skilled crew. Marco was a skipper for the second time in his life, and there was only one more guy, Max, from the original team. The other two were amateur. Nevertheless, they went pretty well, although we had certain advantage, because we knew the place.

In the end The German boat finished on the 8th place. They got two Cups, one for the boat having arrived from the longest distance, and one for the best crew. This second Cup is a very old trophy dated back to1935 and it is given out every year, so they will have to bring it back next year, which hopefully mean they will race again.

We finished third place.

All in all, I think it was a great weekend and you can believe me, you have missed a lot.

Moose US 32

Mer info om den internationella SK30:an som jag fått från Craig.

This is US 32, Moose. She is a Reimers built in 1935. The boat has been out of the water for 3 1/2 years and is about the be launched after a 2 1/2 year renovation. Curret owners are Bob Riehl and Tim Liberty of Port Huron, Michigan. This brings our active fleet to 5. All participate in the race program.

Blue Ribbon of Balaton

Hello All,We learned this weekend that you bring home from a regatta in Hungary much more than just a result: rather, you bring home fond memories of a rich experience of genuine hospitality, great food and wine and last but not least, good sailing. And such memories you like to share with friends with the intention of encouraging them to experience the same, hence this short report.

No less than thirteen 30m² Skerry Cruisers made the start line for this year’s Blue Ribbon of Balaton out of a total of 430 yachts. Anyone experiencing such a field will know what a thrill it is to see 400 spinnakers spread out across a close area – a spectacular sight! Included in the 30m² fleet was a new boat just launched 2 weeks ago. The fact that the first six 30m²s crossed the finish line within a total of half an hour, after approximately 180km and 23 hours of sailing in various conditions, shows how close the racing was: very intense and exciting! First place went to “Lucifer” (Dr. József Fürstner, HUN-12), who managed in the dark at the last moment to sneak past the two boats that had led most of the way, “Hárpia” (Tivadar Lehoczky, HUN-8) and “Mágia” (Tamás Dulin, HUN-19), finishing in that order.

The “shore crew” was also more than adequately entertained, with a multitude of possibilities for sightseeing in the area. Hungarian cuisine may not be a favourite of vegetarians, but for the rest of us carnivores it is hard to beat! That, coupled with some excellent wines from the area, left no appetite unsatisfied. Language, with most Hungarians speaking either English or German (or both), is no restriction. It would be easy to pass a week or two on holiday in this area.The Hungarian 30 sailors enjoy racing on a very high level, and are an enthusiastic and welcoming group who are keen to see more international participation. The organisation of regattas is excellent and generous sponsorship ensures much is offered also on a social level. We can only recommend anyone with the possibility to join in and participate in Hungarian regattas. Ideally they’d like to welcome foreign sailors with their own boats, but anyone will more than likely be able to arrange a crewing position on a Hungarian boat if they are interested.

Almádi Cup (don’t miss it! A highlight of the year offering a combination of Olympic courses, match races and a long distance race) takes place on 17-21. August – could possibly be combined with the Hungarian National Championships (early August).